Researchers have long investigated whether smaller classes improve student achievement. Their conclusions suggest that class size reduction (CSR) can result in greater in-depth coverage of subject matter by teachers, enhanced learning and stronger engagement by students, more personalized teacher-student relationships, and safer schools with fewer…

The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report challenged schools, parents, and businesses to help all students develop competencies in the basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities required for work in the current and future workplace. In response to this challenge, vocational-technical programs were…

The system of school finance equity in Texas is described as it existed before the court case Edgewood Independent School District (ISD) v. Kirby, and the overhaul mandated by legal rulings in the evolving Edgewood case is reviewed. In Texas, as elsewhere, the system of school finance has historically been based on the local property taxes…

This digest discusses how well authentic mathematics assessment tests can be expected to meet the needs of mathematics instruction that focuses on conceptual insights and analytical skills. In the new mathematics curriculum, situational lessons or real-life problems attempt to include dimensions of thinking and reasoning, individual or small-group…

The increase in the number of youth under age 18 enrolling in federally funded adult basic and literacy education programs is a trend that is putting increasing pressures on programs designed to serve an adult population. Documenting the extent of the trend is difficult due to the way in which federal statistics on age of program participants have…